I was quite excited about this one as I'm curious about any film Rani Mukherjee does outside her comfort zone (cough cough minus Khans and Chopra). Moreover the film is produced by Anurag Kashyap which further peaked my interest. However, 'Aiyyaa' fails to deliver. The two major problems were the pacing and the script. Some serious editing was required because it seriously drags. Perhaps about an hour of the film could have easily been left out to make this at least more enjoyable.
The key part of the film, the relationship between Surya and Meenakshi is not explored at all. We see Meenakshi stalking him as she's seduced by his smell but why? What's so powerful about it that she finds herself stalking him? The Surya character is cardboard and Mynah is among the most annoying supporting characters. She really is intolerable. Moreover she even gets a song number which is the worst part of 'Aiyyaa'. Speaking of songs, most of them appear randomly and are shot like those horrible Tamil item numbers (except that here they look more expensive).
Rani has proved in the past that she has a knack for comedy which has been wasted in silly films. Sadly, 'Aiyyaa' isn't an exception but that doesn't change the fact that Rani is exceptional (whether it's her acting or dancing) despite the poor writing. She's full of energy. I thoroughly enjoyed her rendition of Sridevi, Juhi, Madhuri and Silk Smitha in those song sequences. Those are perhaps the funniest sequences, along with the possible suitors. Nirmiti Sawant too provides some laughs as Meenakshi's obsessed mother. Subodh Bhave delivers a sincere performance.
'Aiyyaa' does look quite expensive. Too bad director Sachin Kundalkar hasn't put the money to better use.
